Yes, it’s true – the holiday season is upon us; But while it certainly might be the most wonderful time of the year, it also just so happens to be one of the busiest.
Spirits-bright though they may be, the holidays are filled with hectic schedules, an increase in queries, and little-to-no desire to be on hold with a support agent on the part of your customers. Meaning, the expectations for your service agents are just as high as ever in the coming months.
Is your customer support team prepared for the rush?
Let’s take a look at how your service program can get ready for the holidays!
Learn From Last Year, Now
Don’t wait around for the ghost of service past to show you the error of your ways. This holiday season, make sure to take stock of the mistakes of last year (or maybe even the last few years) when creating your customer service strategy.
Ask yourself: Did you have the right amount of team members on staff? What channels (social media, email, calls, etc.) did customers use most during last year’s holidays? Did your employees report higher levels of stress in either themselves or from the customers around this time in 2018? Knowing the answers to these questions and more can provide invaluable insights into how you structure your customer support team in the coming months.
Practice & Prepare
Proper preparation is important no matter the time of year, it’s true. But with the added chaos of the holiday season on the horizon, your support agents could use a bit of a refresher.
Running practice scenarios, updating communication guidelines to fit the season, and establishing holiday-specific policies and procedures can all help your customer service system run smoothly.
Stock Your Team Wisely
Scheduling around the holidays can feel like a nightmare – which is why you should start thinking about building your support team’s calendar now. This includes paying attention to staffing at peak hours, reorganizing your agents around major holidays, and asking for additional support where you need it.
Lean on Self-Service Models
Businesses of all shapes and sizes often experience an increase in sales – and, therefore, queries – around the holiday season. And busy as your support team may be, your customers will still expect reasonable response times with accurate answers along the way.
Brushing up the efficacy of knowledge bases, customer portals, chatbots, and other self-service means of customer support can take some of the pressure off your team without sacrificing quality. Building up FAQ answers, tailoring your AI for holiday protocols, and more can help consumers help themselves, freeing up your agent’s time for more pressing issues.
Add a Little Joy
Your customer support team should always practice service with a smile, but over the holiday season, you might want to consider turning the friendly-wattage up a notch. Chances are your customers aren’t thrilled about spending their well-deserved holiday time dealing with a product or service issue, making positive agent demeanor crucial to getting through the season.
Listen to Your Employees
Your customers aren’t the only ones looking forward to the holidays. Ensure a successful service season this year by taking care of your team just as you would your clients – by listening when they need a helping hand.
Home for the Holidays
Improve the quality, productivity, and overall success of your customer support team by making Deskware your service program’s home for the holidays.
Deskware offers a combination of manual and automated processes that can streamline your customer service protocol, even in the busiest time of the year. To learn more about Deskware’s teamwork-enabling and organizational features, visit us online today!
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